Reviews by CrazyDavros:

Pale amber/ruby. Inch-high off-white head fades to a thing covering. Good lacing.Typical Belgian yeast aroma, some white rum, lots of phenols, then some banana, nutmeg and cinnamon and a fair whack of sweet malt. Remarkably like the dubbel I brewed the other day.Flavour is mostly alcohol, some fruity malt, doughy yeast and some lemon. The alcohol and high sweetness combine to make a cloying finish.Loads of alcoholic heat on the palate and too much carbonation. Used to think Leffe was the be all and end all of intense expensive beers. Thank god I got over the stage.

More User Reviews:

Seems more like an Amber with light fruit notes. Strangely bitter. Much less fruity than expected. Kind of mixed up and confused. I dont think that this beer quite knows what it is. Color is an off brown rouge, almost raison colored. Very little white head that doesnt last. Mouthfeel and taste are very alcoholic and strong. The brew becomes acidic as it goes down almost burning the tongue. Too sweet also. Not very good at all.

I remember disliking this the first time I had it, but was quite impressed this time.

Appearance: Pours with a large head with large bubbles that dissipate quickly. Lacing is sticky and good. Colour like black tea, that orange-brown hue with a reddish tint.

Smell: Very impressive and unusual. Smells sort of like a Kriek - strong cherry and stone fruit aroma, elements of candied sugar and honey, the smell sets it up to seem a much sweeter brew than it is.

Taste: Belies the smell, but is still good for a strong one. Chewy and bitter, an unusual hoppy taste (not particularly potent). Quite light-bodied for a dark ale like this - obviously due to the filtering (as said before, leaving this unfiltered would have intensified the flavours). Coffee and bitter stone fruit notes are clear. Actually quite refreshing for the style.

Mouthfeel: Nice and fluffy, a little creamy, carbonation is good. Froth seems to form in the mouth nicely.

Drinkability: Pretty good... I wouldn't want to have too many in a row. Hop character is bitter and you'd get sick of it. Nice one to start the night though: strong but quite easy to enjoy for the first ale of the evening.

Overall, I was surprised at having initially disliked it. Perhaps my palate has improved since last time I tried it. Not as good as the Bruin but quite unusual and worth the high price to try it. Somewhere between a Kriek and a strong dark ale: interesting.

Pours with light texture head, medium dark colour and clear. Sweet heavy smell with a darker hue, which is followed by the taste. Rich fruity and fairly sweet, but balanced by a bitter slightly burnt caramel flavour that follows and lingers as you swallow it. That takes some of the initial heavy sweetness away and makes it a pleasant drink, though not the best example of this style of beer from Belgium, but worth drinking. You can detect the similarity of family style and flavours with the lesser strength Leffe beers.

Pouring to a nice red and brown color, this beer looks inviting. The head develops into a good size that shrinks but not entirely, and a few lines of lace are left behind.

The smell was appealing but disappointingly weak. The taste had more flavor, giving a twist of friut up front with a fairly strong finish. Hops are not powerful but do kick in at the end. The drinkability is good, especially considering the alcohol content.

330ml red foil-capped bottle. Props to tbeckett for this bit of less than readily available abbey ale.

This beer pours a clear, dark copper hue, with three fingers of foamy, billowy pale ecru head, which settles slowly, but surely, rendering some decent 'Old Lace' lace around the glass. It smells of bready caramel malt, burnt brown sugar, vinous black fruit, and some zippy floral/earthy hops. The taste is more big bready toffee malt, dark candy sugar, some mild Belgian yeast, and a surprisingly prominent, and bitter, forest floor hoppiness. Lurking in the background, one can detect the simmering booze, but it remains a mere wraith at this point. The carbonation is on the down side of front and center, the body nice and full and a bit spritzy, and smooth nonetheless. It finishes with a relative echo of grainy, sugary malt, against a rising hoppy specter and booze warming.

The regular Leffe Blonde bores me, mostly because it's just, well normal. Lately, I've been macking on the BSDAs, as a sort of antidote (or partner in crime) to my DIPA predilection, and have made my way through all of the locally available offerings of the former. Great to try an another well-wrought example of big, boozy malts, but Belgian-balanced. Phew.

Twelve years after my first tatsing of this beer, I got a chance to taste it again. The wait is over. Lets see how my first impression (very good at that time) holds the road...

Pours red-mahogany, translucid without any yeast suspension and on top if it, a nice white head lasting <2min. Probably because this beer was served a bit to cold!

Nose: Some sweet malt is perceptible, no signs of roasted grains. Cherries and other red fruits are presents, but does not dominates.

Taste: Maraschino cherry, metallic, banana ester (certainly due to alcohol level) and many subtle flavours to complex for me to pinpoint. Alcohol taste is very well balanced. Carbonation is good. On-Tap, this brew would score a bit higher.

The Leffe I accidently drank turns out to be a great mistake! The reddish hue of the beer sits below a nice head. It smells a bit like the Bruin but with a slightly more yeasty complexion. I love the taste, not like the Blonde cousin in that you can sense a malty alcohol hint that follows a fruity wetness you just have to have more of. Wasn't as good of a mouth feel once it got a little warm, so recommend having this one cold in your Leffe stemware! Overall a very good beer, but I wish it was more available in the U.S.

Just because it's a "typical" Belgian, doesn't mean it can't be tasty. This hard-to-find Belgian gives your taste buds notes of caramel at first, followed by a little wheat and typical Belgian malt. If you like either the Leffe Blonde or Brune, I think you'll enjoy the Radieuse. It is a little heavy on the carbonation side, so definitely a beer to take your time with.

exp 3/4/13A: Dark orangy red, scum on the surface as a head. Transparent, no visible rising carbonation.S: Sweet plum, very similar to plum wine but less sweet than that.T: Nice. Perhaps plum like, but not so sweet. I've had similar ones that I can't remember the name of, but I don't think any were as good as this one. Nice blend. Very slight tartness in the aftertaste.M: Almost no carbonation, medium body.O: Good, special flavor. Well blended.

poured from a new bottle, a copper color with a quickly dissolving, but nice foam. Fantastic lacing.

Smell: Rains and dates with a hint bread. Sweet. Fruit Cake.

Taste: Sweetness with a bitter finish. Starts off with hints of fruit cake and raisins, similar to the smell. A tart finish with some strongly developing hops. Alcohol warms the mouth as tartness dissipates.

A 330 ml bottle courtesy of ggaughan. It pours a clear ruddy brown into my Chimay chalice. A two finger head and decent lacing along the rim. No carbonation evident but something has to be keeping the milky wisps on the top of my glass alive. A nice looking BSDA.

Smell is dark fruits and malt. Heavy banana and yeast esters. A hint of bubble gum and light alcohol.

Taste is more of the same. Sweet malt and dark fruits, (figs and dates). The malt is more prominent than the fruit but the two of them come first. Some caramel comes through. Banana in the middle with fruity yeast and just the slightest bit of alcohol heat. Clean hops in the finish with toasted biscuit lingering on the palate.

Mouthefeel is wonderful,a medium weight with a slight chewyness. Carbonation is works with the dry finish to leave a clean mouth in a state of anticipation.

Drinkability is very good. The alcohol does not call attention to itself and as such I went through my glass faster than I wanted. I could quaff a few. It is strong though so watch out!!